Pokemon Noir
by Enker
Summary: Justin is a young apprentice to Professor Almanac, dragged out of his way to an obscure island in search of a rare Pokemon, he discovers more than he ever imagined . . .


_NOTE: The following is an introductionary sequence from a fan-game I was (am) intending to create. There may or may not be follow-up chapters depending upon how this piece is recieved. Comments welcome._

POKEMON NOIR – PRELUDE

"Explain to me again why we're out here?" Justin pulled his pack tighter against his back and looked at the woodland around them. It had been seven days since he and the Professor had left Vermilion City and he was starting to feel the weight. Ahead of him Professor Almanac was steadily disappearing into the brush, the only thing marking him out was his white lab-coat, his short cut dark hair and skin blending into the surroundings surprisingly well.

One of the branches Almanac had pushed aside snapped back violently and narrowly missed Justin's head. It wasn't that he disliked fieldwork, it was just that after a week of sleeping out in the open one could come to dislike the great outdoors.

"You know perfectly well why we're here," the professor called as he checked the map on his Pokenav with care. Sliding under a branch he couldn't possibly have seen whilst he was so absorbed in his work, the older man came to a stop beside a dense thicket and patiently waited for his protege to catch up. "Somewhere around this region is the legendary Pokemon, Rayquaza. All my research points to her having made her home close-by."

Justin had pointed out once that Rayquaza was of indiscriminate sex. There was only one and it hadn't ever bred in known history. But Almanac insisted that it was a she, and always referred to her as such. When reports indicating strange changes in the weather over an island in the Noir Region, he had decided that the only reasonable explanation was that Rayquaza – legendary Pokemon of storms – had gone to ground there, and that they should set out at once to find it.

Not that they intended to catch it. The professor had been quite clear about that, any fool who tried to ensnare a legendary Pokemon would be in for one hell of a shock. Justin wasn't a trainer by profession, in fact he didn't even have a Pokemon partner, he had never really liked the idea of keeping the poor things cooped up inside a Pokeball. The professor however was an avid collector, and had brought several along, which had proved quite helpful as the pair of them travelled through the forest.

As they cleared the brush, the dense forest opened up into a lavish waterfall. Crystal clear water cascaded from high above them and fell into bubbly foam below. Perched about half way up on the cusp of a cliff edge, were the two explorers. Justin spared a moment to drop the pack from his back and rummage through it in order to pull out a tin cup, from which he drank. It was sweet and cold, fresh from the mountain spring.

Professor Almanac smiled at his student and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking about him with an air of expectation. "This is it!" he announced in a hushed whisper, "Rayquaza is somewhere in this area!"

Finishing the cup full of water in three long sips, Justin looked around expectantly. "I can't see anything that would suggest it's been here, Professor." He looked a little deflated. The thought that all the time that they had spent trekking out to this spot was in vain almost painful. Even now his feet were crying out for attention after too much time spent walking. "Maybe we . . ." and then he stopped.

Behind Almanac, inside the flow of the waterfall, a pair of huge glowing yellow eyes opened and fixed the pair of them with a stare. Each one was roughly a meter in length and oval, clearly visible even through the rushing water. Then there was a huge exhale of air that blew Justin off his feet and sent a fine spray f water over the pair of them. Slowly, a little at a time, the water began to part at the Pokemon's huge head peeked through.

Justin had never been more scared in his life. The size of the Pokemon coupled with the amount of raw power he knew it contained was nothing on paper – but to see it close up liked this was something entirely different. His legs locked and he just sat there, gazing up at the beast with eyes filled with a mix of sheer terror and wonder. Almanac however was inching closer, one hand outstretched as if to try and touch the beast.

"Prof, wait!" Justin whispered urgently.

"Don't worry, she knows we don't mean to hurt her . . ." holding onto the edge of the bank he lent out and ran a hand along the side of the slick skin, letting his fingers grave the flesh.

Then with a suddenness that surprised them both, Rayquaza slipped bodily from the waterfall and took to the air, lifting up and disappearing into the clouds in an instant, leaving behind only a dragon-like roar in its wake. Almanac held on for a second to the bank, and then toppled over. Falling down the length of the waterfall with his bags in tow. It would have been almost comical had Justin not heard the splash at the bottom followed seconds later by a cry for help. Jumping to his feet, Justin raced to the edge and peered over.

There below him, was the Prof, treading water frantically with his bags tangled into a tree. Not too far from the bank to swim ashore. Justin weighed up his chances and spotted a way to climb down, then jumped to an outstretched branch and down to land a few meters away from the bags.

"Did you see that Prof! It was amazing!" he called out, but Almanac was still treading water desperately, and now that he was closer Justin could see why he hadn't made a move for the shore. Circling him in a tight circle was a Carvanha. The Water Pokemon had strongly developed jaws and its sharply pointed fangs packed the destructive power to rip out boat hulls. If it thought that the Professor had invaded its territory then there was a good chance that it would attack.

Watching it circle, Justin's eyes fell onto a single Pokeball that had fallen from the bag and landed on a rock in the river at the base of the fall. If he jumped out over the distance he could get it.

"Hang on Prof!" he called, and took a few steps back before making a running jump across the water. Landing heavily on the rock he slipped and one leg dipped into the water, luckly however there didn't appear to be any more Carvanha about, but he pulled it out quickly again non-the-less. Hands grasping the red and blue ball tightly, he regained his footing and threw it with as much might as he could in the direction of the wild Pokemon. Striking off of another rock, it opened and spewed out an Eevee in a burst of yellow light.

The small cat-like Pokemon glanced around as if confused, and then reared up into a defensive position as it caught sight of the Carvanha.

"Justin! You've got to tell it what to do!" Almanac yelled, and then bubbled under the surface for a second before regaining his stride. "Get me out of here!"

"Right!" Justin yelled back, sounding a lot more sure of himself than he actually was. He wasn't a trainer and only had a passable knowledge of how a battle was supposed to go. However he was savvy enough to know that Tackle was a basic attack most Pokemon possessed, and quickly ordered the Eevee to do so. Without hesitation the little thing leapt towards the wild Pokemon and used its front two paws to knock the fish down deep into the water. The impact onto the fish's hard spiney skin caused the little thing to sound out in pain but the shock of the attack forced its enemy to turn tail and disappear.

Grabbing hold of the Professor's collar, it swum him to safety with surprising ease for such a small creature, then after shaking itself dry it curled up and went to sleep on the bank.

Drying himself on a towel Justin rescued from the hanging back-pack. Almanac laughed to himself quietly and looked up at the sky. "We saw her! Didn't I tell you she was here?" he sounded like a schoolboy who had just discovered his lady-love was at the same party. Justin however was less than amused, he'd recovered a Potion from the satchel and was tending to Eevee's injuries by spraying the medicine on the poor things paws. After a moment it awoke and licked his hand.

"She likes you." Almanac indicated the Eevee with a nod. "Maybe you should keep her. I have one too many Pokemon with me as it is and I've never gotten around to training her up properly."

Justin looked worried. "I don't know professor," he waved his hands around "I've never been the kind of guy to look after a pet."

The Professor stopped and looked at him for a moment, a serious expression on his face. Then with great reverence he folded the towel and came to crouch down beside him. "A Pokemon is never a pet, Justin." He announced with a soft, yet firm tone. "They are partners that help us achieve new heights. Never think of a Pokemon as a tool, they have feelings and emotions that set them a breed apart." He indicated the Eevee with a wave of one hand, and rubbed the cat's head with great reverence.

"When I was young I was given a Pokemon for my 11th birthday. You could say that I've been a little in love with them ever since." He gripped Justin's hand lightly and placed the empty Pokeball into it, it felt lighter now and oddly warm to the touch. He'd never seen the Professor like this before, the energy and the passion in his voice were amazing. "Justin, your own adventure with Pokemon is about to start!"


End file.
